Level Eye is built around singer Ivy and bassplayer Jan, originally from Holland, who have been playing together for years after they met in the group Ivy & The Terrace Tones. Rooted in classic Soul, they have been travelling through Europe, linking a chain of concerts, big and small. The result of these experiences is in this album, with Soul and modern Rock entitled Better get going. A big production, provided with competent orchestration (rhythm guitars, keyboards, brass, percussion, string section, choir), inspired compositions with the explosive voice of Ivy, influences by Tina Turner, Aretha Franklin and Janis Joplin. This sometimes strays into Pop territory, it is rather far from the Blues and classic Soul. Nevertheless the Memphis reference is very present, very well done and this balances effectively.

In the cover text any actual information about this Dutch band fails. This is a debut LP, a surprisingly cool recording of a performance on January 4 this year for the sub-label of Diving Duck, the Dutch label already working on a compilation of interesting West-Coast blues. The Terrace Tones sound at least as if they have been busy creating a distinct profile for some time already, the way they are making r & b music doesn't come from the cold ground it seems.
Their first advantage lies in a broad repertory choice from very old blues (Big City Blues is a penetrating duet between the singer Yvette de Vrij and guitarist Theo Houtkoop), Ray Charles, Joe Tex, Billy Preston, Lennon's Jealous Guy, as an example, Didn't I Blow Your Mind, a beautiful soul hit written by Thom Bell in'70 for The Delfonics.
Their second strength is the sophisticated way in which they know how to perform these balanced compositions their own way, without sounding artificial for one single moment. Add to this Ivy's solid raw brown soul performance and the whipped up guidance of a fat old hammond organ, and already you are dealing with a r & b group who leaves the scarce Dutch competition in this sector behind with ease.